Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Petuniaxc3x97hybrida cultivar Kermar.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Petunia plant, botanically known as Petuniaxc3x97hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Kermar.
The new Petunia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Over, Cambridge, United Kingdom. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cascading Petunias with numerous double flowers with attractive flower colors.
The new Petunia originated from a cross made by the Inventor in August, 1998 of the Petunia cultivar Sunsolos, not patented,, as the female, or seed, parent with an unidentified proprietary seedling selection of Petunia with purple-colored flowers, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Petunia was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny in July, 1999 in Over, Cambridge, United Kingdom on the basis of its double and numerous white-colored flowers with distinct purple-colored venation.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal vegetative cuttings since August, 1999, taken in Over, Cambridge, United Kingdom has shown that the unique features of this new Petunia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Kermar have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and daylength without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Kermarxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Kermarxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Outwardly spreading, cascading and uniform plant habit.
2. Compact growth habit.
3. Early flowering habit.
4. Numerous double flowers that are white in color with distinct purple-colored venation.
Plants of the new Petunia differ from plants of the female parent, the cultivar Sunsolos, in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Petunia are more compact and not as pendulous as plants of the cultivar Sunsolos.
2. Plants of the new Petunia have larger flowers than plants of the cultivar Sunsolos.
3. Plants of the new Petunia have double flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Sunsolos have single flowers.
Plants of the new Petunia differ from plants of the male parent, an unidentified purple-colored double-flowered Petunia selection, in the following characteristics:
1. Flowers of plants of the new Petunia are white in color whereas flowers of plants of the male parent are purple in color.
2. Flowers of plants of the new Petunia have distinct venation whereas flowers of plants of the male parent do not have distinct venation.
Plants of the new Petunia can be compared to plants of the cultivar Silk Road, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/450,095. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Over, Cambridge, United Kingdom, plants of the new Petunia differed from plants of the cultivar Silk Road in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Petunia had rounder leaves than plants of the cultivar Silk Road.
2. Plants of the new Petunia flowered about 12 days earlier than plants of the cultivar Silk Road.
3. Plants of the new Petunia had larger flowers than plants of the cultivar Silk Road.
4. Flowers of plants of the new Petunia had fewer petaloids than flowers of plants of the cultivar Silk Road.
Plants of the new Petunia can also be compared to plants of the cultivar Doubloon white Star, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Over, Cambridge, United Kingdom, plants of the new Petunia differed from plants of the cultivar Doubloon White Star in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Petunia were more compact than plants of the cultivar Doubloon White Star.
2. Plants of the new Petunia had rounder leaves than plants of the cultivar Doubloon White Star.
3. Plants of the new Petunia flowered about three days earlier than plants of the cultivar Doubloon White Star.
4. Flowers of plants of the new Petunia had fewer petaloids than flowers of plants of the cultivar Doubloon White Star.